Integrity Wealth Advisors Inc. Takes $768,000 Position in First Merchants Corporation $FRME

Key Points

• Integrity Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired 19,000 shares of First Merchants Corporation valued at approximately $768,000 during the first quarter, marking the stock as its 24th largest position.
• Various institutional investors increased their stakes in First Merchants, with notable boosts from Bank of America (18.8%) and Deutsche Bank (52.0%) in the previous quarter.
• First Merchants announced a quarterly dividend of $0.36 per share, scheduled for payment on September 19th, which translates to an annual yield of 3.6%.

Integrity Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 19,000 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $768,000. First Merchants comprises 0.6% of Integrity Wealth Advisors Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in FRME. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of First Merchants in the 1st quarter valued at about $658,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 0.9% during the first quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 41,288 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,670,000 after acquiring an additional 387 shares during the last quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of First Merchants by 43.2% in the fourth quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC now owns 41,781 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,667,000 after purchasing an additional 12,600 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of First Merchants by 10,900.5% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 21,231 shares of the bank's stock valued at $859,000 after purchasing an additional 21,038 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in First Merchants by 18.8% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 120,622 shares of the bank's stock worth $4,812,000 after acquiring an additional 19,063 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.92% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on FRME shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded First Merchants from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on First Merchants from $49.00 to $48.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, First Merchants presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $48.25.

First Merchants Stock Up 1.9%

Shares of NASDAQ FRME traded up $0.76 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $40.21. The company had a trading volume of 69,254 shares, compared to its average volume of 277,796. The company has a market capitalization of $2.32 billion, a PE ratio of 10.41 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90. First Merchants Corporation has a 1-year low of $33.13 and a 1-year high of $46.13. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $40.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.72.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The bank reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $170.52 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $172.13 million. First Merchants had a return on equity of 9.88% and a net margin of 21.35%.During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.68 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that First Merchants Corporation will post 3.79 earnings per share for the current year.

First Merchants Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be paid a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. First Merchants's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.31%.

First Merchants Company Profile

First Merchants Corporation operates as the financial holding company for First Merchants Bank that provides community banking services. The company offers a range of financial services, including time, savings, and demand deposits; and consumer, commercial, agri-business, public finance, and real estate mortgage loans.